TY - CHAP

T1 - Effects of the Neuro-Turn

T2 - The Neural Network as a Paradigm for Human Self-Understanding

AU - Förster-Beuthan, Yvonne

PY - 2017/2/13

Y1 - 2017/2/13

N2 - This chapter discusses the image of the neural net and its impact on human self-understanding. Neuroscientific imaging techniques produce a wide range of images of the inside of the skull, which not only serve a medical purpose but also begin to fuel our imagination and give the interdisciplinary discussion a new edge. I will elaborate on how philosophy adopts neuroscientific thinking and how art incorporates artificial life. Based on an analysis of the movies Her (2013) and Transcendence (2014), two highly successful Hollywood movies and recent examples from popular culture, I show that these movies invoke a net structure as their leading image, and that it makes a difference whether the image of the brain (body-bound) or of the neural net (not body-bound) is used. Furthermore, the neural net represents an image that suggests the emergence of intelligence, self-organization, and infinity. It is closely intertwined with the Internet, advanced computing, and utopias of immortality. These images, I argue, ultimately suggest a new metaphysical dimension of an omni-present consciousness that permeates being itself.

AB - This chapter discusses the image of the neural net and its impact on human self-understanding. Neuroscientific imaging techniques produce a wide range of images of the inside of the skull, which not only serve a medical purpose but also begin to fuel our imagination and give the interdisciplinary discussion a new edge. I will elaborate on how philosophy adopts neuroscientific thinking and how art incorporates artificial life. Based on an analysis of the movies Her (2013) and Transcendence (2014), two highly successful Hollywood movies and recent examples from popular culture, I show that these movies invoke a net structure as their leading image, and that it makes a difference whether the image of the brain (body-bound) or of the neural net (not body-bound) is used. Furthermore, the neural net represents an image that suggests the emergence of intelligence, self-organization, and infinity. It is closely intertwined with the Internet, advanced computing, and utopias of immortality. These images, I argue, ultimately suggest a new metaphysical dimension of an omni-present consciousness that permeates being itself.

KW - Philosophy

KW - Embodiment

KW - Cognitive Sciences

KW - Phenomenology

KW - Philosophy of Film

KW - Philosophy of science

KW - Neuroscientific turn

KW - embodiment

KW - ontology

KW - film

KW - philosophy of mind

KW - image

KW - art

KW - human self-understanding

UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780128042052

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85020791550&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/B978-0-12-804205-2.00010-0

DO - 10.1016/B978-0-12-804205-2.00010-0

M3 - Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

SN - 978-0-12-804205-2

SP - 159

EP - 177

BT - The Human Sciences after the Decade of the Brain

A2 - Leefman, Jon

A2 - Hildt, Elisabeth

PB - Elsevier B.V.

CY - London

ER -